When Gods Fall
by cryo247
Summary: *Sequel to Sins of Our Past* Six months after the events in Washington, Ana and Bucky are trying to make a new life among the Avengers. Things aren't the same though, S.H.I.E.L.D is gone and the Avengers are left as the only line of defense between the world and evil. There's a traitor in their midst that's threatening to tear apart the very fabric of the Avengers. Bucky/OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Six Months Later

New York was different. It was more crowded, louder, and seemed to smell even worse. But that didn't stop Ana from waking up at nearly dawn every morning to go running. Every morning, Ana would wake up beside Bucky with his metal arm over her. She would slip out of bed, pull on running clothes, and take to the streets of New York. Over the past six months Ana developed a skin graph glove that she would put over her leg whenever she was in public. To the untrained eye, it just looked like skin. But to Ana she knew it was just covering up the thing she was trying so hard to deny.

It was a cold December day in New York and Ana was currently on the third mile. She didn't sleep much the night before and was just trying to kill time. Her iPhone which was on shuffle was now going through its third rotation. Ana didn't have many music on her phone, she just wasn't a big fan of music. Ana found it would distract her too much while working but right now she wished she had more.

As Ana waited for the crossing light to change she jogged in place. Since the super soldier serum took its place in Ana's body she no longer got tired. Ana hated it, she wanted to feel tired and wanted to. She glanced down at her heart rate monitor and cursed under her breath, her heart rate was still normal.

When the light changed Ana jogged across the street. She dodged a few people who were heading towards her and Ana turned the corner. The Avengers building was rising above the New York skyline. The giant arch powered 'A' was obnoxiously bright for this early in the morning.

When Ana reached to building the guards outside the door nodded at her. It was just passed seven in the morning and Ana walked into main lobby of the building. Maria Hill was sitting at the main desk running through files.

"You're here early," Ana said as she took out her earphone and smirked at Maria.

"Well," Maria said as she looked up from her computer, "With the world building itself back up there is no such thing as a true nine to five job," she looked at Ana's attire and then at her slightly flushed red cheeks, "And I'm guessing that you aren't sleeping these days."

Ana put her hands on the desk and shrugged, "Not really, Kacper and I are trying to design new weapons to get the Avengers back in the Governments good graces."

"Quick questions," Maria said as she tapped her pen against her desk, "You're a biomedical engineer, right?"

"Last time I checked my diploma I was," Ana said as she smirked. Ana liked Maria, she was practical and didn't take anything from anyone.

Maria leaned back in her chair with her arms folded over her chest, "Then why are you and your chemist friend making weapons?"

Ana sighed and shrugged, "Aside from Stark and Banner, we're the only ones in this place who have the science know how to build the weapons the government wants."

"Well that should help with your father being a general and all. He can give you a direct list of things the government wants," Maria said as the elevator door opened and Steve stepped into the lobby.

Ana smirked as she leaned off the counter, "Old Daddy dearest and I just started talking again, he knows not to push it with me and I know not to push it with him. I'll talk to you later Maria."

Ana walked over to Steve and smiled, "You're up early."

"Yeah," Steve said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'm going to get breakfast with Kat, if you want to tag along then that-"

Ana shook her hands in front of him, "Oh no, I am not third wheeling with you and my sister," Ana smiled as she walked passed Steve and turned, "Oh but tell my sister I said hi and pick me up a bare claw!"

About two months ago Steve and Kat started seeing each other. At first Ana was a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing but she saw the way they looked at each other. In actuality, Ana never saw her sister so happy. Steve had this boyish charm about him that was sweet and enduring. Together, he and Katherine made a nice pair.

"Alright, see you in a few hours," Steve called back as Ana shut the elevator doors.

Once the doors were shut, Ana leaned against the elevator walls. She sighed as she tugged her hair out of the pony tail and sighed. She pulled the cloaking device off her leg and stared at her reflection in the steel door. Ana let out a long sigh as the doors opened to the lab floor.

Ana stepped out of the elevator into the beautiful state of the art lab. This place turned into Ana's home in the past six months. As she walked into the room the computers turned on and Jarvis's voice echoed throughout the room, "Good morning Dr. Baker. Shall I page Dr. Bacik and tell him you're in the lab?"

"Don't worry about it Jarvis," Ana said as she walked over to a computer monitor and turned it on, "But I would kill for a cup of coffee."

"Which one of the Avengers would you like to bring you your cup of coffee this morning, Dr. Baker?" Jarvis's mechanical voice asked.

As the computer scanned Ana's retina she smirked, "Tony sounds like he had a busy night," Ana said, "Why don't you send him."

The computer finished scanning Ana's eye and opened up the last thing she was working on. Ana swiped the computer screen and the files she was working on the night before were transferred to all the screens around the room. Ana moved back so she was standing in the middle of the room and looked around at the weapon specs that were everywhere.

Ana rubbed her head and sighed, "Where to start where to start."

Normally, Ana would get right to work on whatever project Tony pushed into her hands. But this morning, Ana's ambition was astronomically low. She leaned against one of the lab tables and folded her arms over her chest. Eight years at Yale studying to become what she was today, and now Ana wasn't even doing what she loved. Because of what the world turned into Ana wasn't even able to do what she loved. Ana looked down at her prosthetic leg that was crossed over her organic one and sighed. She ran her hands over her eyes before looking back at the screen.

"Jarvis," Ana said as her eyes fell onto a blaster cannon that Kacper was trying to design, "What happens if we use a chemical combination of a hydrogen solid and a krypton gas?"

After a few moments Jarvis's voice answered, "It would cause a delayed explosion."

"How big would the explosion be?" Ana asked as she reached for a pad and paper to begin writing this all down.

"In a dry environment the blast radius would be about seventy yards," Jarvis answered.

Ana shrugged, "Alright that I like. Why don't' we make a note of that and Dr. Bacik can do his, chemist things later."

"Of course Dr. Baker," Jarvis said as the chemical equation appeared on a screen beside one of the many widows overlooking New York.

Ana sighed and turned as the elevator doors opened. She expected Tony to be standing there ready to make a smart comment about how he wasn't her paper boy. But when Ana looked up she saw Bucky standing there with two cups of coffee in his hands. He had a smirk on his face as he walked into the lab and placed the coffee down on the table that Ana was leaning against.

"Good morning," Bucky said as he placed on Ana's hips and kissed the top of her head.

Ana smiled softly and looked up at Bucky, "I didn't wake you did I?"

Bucky shook his head, "No not at all. How was your run this morning?"

"It was great," Ana said as she took the mug that Bucky brought her and took a sip of the coffee, "Thank you by the way. I asked Jarvis to send Tony because I didn't want to wake you."

"I was already awake," Bucky said as he picked up his own mug and took a sip. He glanced down at Ana's shorts and shook his head, "Shorts and a sweat shirt in the middle of December, weren't you freezing?"

Ana shook her head, "Nope, I was perfectly fine for the run."

Bucky glanced out the window, "It looks like it's going to snow."

Ana nodded in agreement, "I wouldn't mind some snow to be honest," she said as they leaned against the table and looked out over the New York skyline.

Bucky looked at Ana and was marveled by her strength. Nearly every day that Bucky looked at Ana he was amazed by how strong she was. Bucky wrapped an arm around Ana's waist and brought her closer to him. Ana rested her head on his shoulder and just enjoyed the moment between the two. Between Bucky getting integrated with modern society and Ana working all the time they rarely had a moment to themselves besides the morning when they woke up next to each other.

"You know," Bucky's voice caused Ana to turn her head towards him, "When I thought about us living in New York I didn't think it would be anything like this."

Ana knitted her brows together, "What do you mean?"

"I thought we would have our own place and that we would have normal jobs. I didn't think we'd be Avengers," Bucky admitted.

Ana frowned, "If you're not happy I can look into getting an apartment for us."

"Oh no," Bucky said as he turned and took Ana's head in his face, "Just being with you is enough for me," he kissed Ana softly on her forehead.

Ana shut her eyes and let out a small sigh. When she opened her eyes Bucky smiled and Ana smiled back, "How's everything going, you know getting used to everything? I know the world is much more different from the forties but hopefully you like it."

"It's different," secretly Bucky longed for the days before all of this but he would never tell Ana that, "But I do like the internet though."

Ana couldn't help but laugh. She shook her head and walked over to the computer and began running some tests on the weapons she and Kacper were designing. Bucky took his mug and sighed as he leaned against the table watching Ana. He loved to watch Ana work, she was like a deadly assassin but instead of killing people she designed things he could never understand.

"Out of curiosity," Ana said her eyes flicked up to Bucky who was standing across from her, "Did you have any family members that could still be alive?"

Bucky shrugged, "I had a sister named Rebecca," Bucky rubbed the back of his neck and sighed as he tried to dig through his memories, "She was about seventeen when I left for the war. Why do you want to know?"

Ana shrugged as her fingers beat against the keyboard. Bucky narrowed his eyes and took a step towards Ana, "Ana, what are you searching for?"

"Nothing," Ana said as she looked up and smiled, "I promise," Ana glanced down at the clock in the corner of her computer, "Now shoo," she said as she waved Bucky away, "You have a lesion with Tony. Tony's going to teach you how to use the TV."

Bucky narrowed his eyes but trusted Ana, "Alright, I'll see you in a few hours."

Ana nodded as she looked back to her screen. It was important that Bucky try to readjust to things because even six months later, Bucky still didn't know things about this world. Ana sighed and shook her head as she continued her search. Ana felt bad for lying to Bucky but she didn't want to get his hopes up. Ana knew that if Bucky was going to make a life in this new world he would need some sort of family members.

"And here we go," Ana said as she smirked and printed out an address for a Rebecca Proctor, "Alright, let's go see who you are."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Visitation Rights

After a long shower and pulling on suitable clothes for the weather, Ana glanced down at the address she had in her hand. Ana pulled on her trench coat and wrapped her red scarf around her neck. As a joke, when Ana got out of the hospital Bucky bought her a new scarf to replace the one she lost in Russia. Ana pulled on her matching red rain boots and grabbed her bag. It was half passed noon and Bucky was still in one of his sessions. This meant that Ana could easily slip out of the building without him noticing.

On her way out, Ana grabbed her small mole skin journal that was lying on their coffee table. Tucked inside the journal was Rebecca Proctors address. Ana was excited, actually she felt like a kid on Christmas. If she could give Bucky a connection to his past it would mean so much to him and it would help him adjust to his new life.

Sure, Rebecca Proctor was aging and she may die soon but Ana thought that if her Gram was still kicking- besides the dementia- then Rebecca could be around long enough for Bucky to make up for lost time. Ana smirked as she got into the elevator and pressed the lobby button. As the doors opened, Steve stood there with a bag in his hand.

"Hey where are you going?" Steve asked as Ana got off the elevator.

Ana knew that Steve could never keep a secret from Bucky. The two were mending their friendship and Ana knew that it would be unfair to ask that of Steve. So instead she smiled and tucked her hands in her pockets, "I just wanted to do some shopping."

Luckily for Ana, Steve didn't know how much she actually hated to go shopping. He bought the lie and handed her the white paper bag, "Here's your bear claw and try not to have too much fun," as Steve stepped into the elevator he turned and called to Ana who was already making her way towards the door, "I'll tell Bucky that you'll be back later."

"Please do!"

####

Ana sat on one of the plastic subway seats as the train rocked its way from Manhattan to Brooklyn. As Ana viciously ate her bear claw she jotted down questions to ask Rebecca. A man dressed in a suit that was sitting across from Ana gave her a disgusted look. Absent mindedly, Ana took another monster bite of the bear claw.

Ana's hand writing was horrible at best and the train's rocking wasn't helping it at all. Ana sighed as she made a 's' look too much like a 'g'. The train was getting closer to her destination Ana stuffed the last of the bear claw into her mouth. When she looked up, she noticed the stingy business man watching her. Ana knitted her eyebrows together and threw a face his way. The business man shifted uncomfortably and looked away as Ana stood and exited the train. As she tossed the bag away in one of the subway trash cans before rushing up the stairs. Ana looked around to get her bearings before glancing down at the address. Rebecca Proctor seemed to live about a block away in the same apartment that she and Bucky grew up in. Ana hurried down the side walk at a brisk pace that would have left her gasping for air before.

The apartment building was on a long street of old fashioned brown stones. Kids were running up and down the sidewalk eagerly waiting the coming snow. Ana smiled as she walked up the steps of the brown stone and when she reached the door she glanced at the calling card. Each person had their own button to page them. After scrolling through the names, Ana found the world 'Proctor' scrawled on a yellowing slip of paper.

It suddenly dawned on Ana that she had no idea what she was going to say to this woman. She couldn't just show up and say 'hi my name is Ana and I'm your long lost brother's girlfriend.' It would put the poor woman in an early grave for sure.

Ana tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and folded her arms over her chest. She could lie to the woman, but that wouldn't be fair and it would look awful once she introduced Bucky. Finally, Ana decided that she would take a very S.H.I.E.L.D like approach to this; she would tell the truth but not give away all her information.

Ana pressed a cold finger against the buzzer and waited until she heard the voice of an old woman ask, "Who is it?"

"Hi my name is Ana Baker," Ana began, "Are you the Rebecca Proctor who was the sister to Bucky Barnes?"

After a few moments of waiting the voice answered, "Yes, yes I was his sister but what's it to you?"

"I've always been really interested in the Howling Commandos," Ana explained, "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions and just talk to you for a bit."

Another pause before Ana heard the door buzz open. She took a quick glance at which apartment number it was before slipping into the building. Instead of waiting for the elevator, Ana ran up the stairs until she reached the fourth floor. The floor over looked the city street and the bakery across from that street. Ana turned away from the small window and walked to the apartment door. She raised her hand and knocked twice before the door was pulled open. Standing there was a small woman with perfectly white hair that was tied back into a braided bun. She had Bucky's brown eyes and his nose.

"So," Rebecca said as she ushered Ana into her apartment, "You're here to talk about my brother?"

Ana nodded, "I just have a few questions if you don't mind."

"You know," Rebecca said as she folded her arms over her flowered dress, "You look familiar, like one of Bucky's old war gals."

"You probably met my grandmother," Ana said, "Peggy Carter."

A small sad smile worked its way onto Rebecca's face as she motioned for Ana to sit down. The living room was a small but bright room. The couch Ana was currently sitting on was white and had pink roses on it. Across from the couch was a small brown leather chair that Rebecca was currently occupying. The walls of the apartment were covered in family photos and Ana noticed Bucky in a few of them.

"Peggy Carter personally brought us the news of Bucky's death. She was so calm about it and when my mother started to cry she stayed and tried to comfort my mother. She was a nice woman, you look a lot like her," Rebecca said as she looked down at her hands then sighed as she looked back at Ana, "Can I get you something to drink?"

It was obvious that this was hard for Rebecca. Ana shut her journal and placed her hands on top of it, "No thank you, but I know what it's like to lose a brother to war. I lost mine two years ago, if this is too hard for you then we can just stop."

Rebecca shook her head, "No, I have to get this out while I still remember. You see, I'm in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Before you go feeling bad for me I'm still as sharp as a tack some days. Today happens to be one of those days," Rebecca smiled as she pushed herself up and walked over to the wall. She took off a picture and hobbled back over to Ana then sat down beside her and showed Ana the picture, "This was Bucky the day before he shipped out. He was so handsome don't you think?"

Bucky was extremely handsome even back then. His cocky smile, which was something Ana wasn't used to, was shining brightly in the picture. He was dressed in his Army greens with his hat titled ever so slightly to give off a bad boy impression. Beside him, a much younger Rebecca was hugging her brother and they were both smiling.

"You too looked close," Ana said as she softly handed the picture back to Rebecca.

Rebecca nodded, "We were best friends. When I was five I started to call him Bucky because I had a hard time saying James."

"That's adorable," Ana said with a fond smile, "You must miss him very much."

"After we first got the news I used to sit with my mother in the evenings. We would sit on the steps peeling potatoes and every time I heard someone laugh I thought it was Bucky. I would turn and expect to see him and Steve walking down the street together," Rebecca shook her head and sighed, "But that never happened. Steve visited me once, only for a few hours but it was nice to see him again. I actually thought I was going crazy when I saw Steve standing there. He's so big after that super soldier operation they did!"

Ana couldn't help but chuckle as she nodded in agreement, "Steve is pretty big these days."

Rebecca knitted her gray eyebrows together, "You know him?"

"He's dating my sister," Ana confessed, "But Mrs. Proctor this isn't why I'm here," Ana turned so she was facing Rebecca and smiled, "What if I told you that there was a way you could see your brother? That Bucky was still alive?"

Rebecca seemed confused as she said, "I would call you crazy, Bucky died in the war."

"Please," Ana said, "I know that this is asking a lot but, do you think you could come to this address on Saturday?" It was Sunday which meant that it would give Ana almost a week to talk to Bucky and get him to agree to all of this, "I promise that you won't regret it."

The elderly woman looked down at the paper Ana was handing her. She hesitated for a moment but took the paper, "I better not regret this."

"You won't," Ana said as she stood and placed her journal in her bag, "I promise you won't regret a second of it," Ana glance down at her wrist watch, "I'm sorry but I have to get going. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Rebecca stood and walked Ana to the door. When Ana was gone, Rebecca looked down at the paper in her hands. She would go to this address on Saturday, but Rebecca didn't believe that Bucky was still alive.

…..

Bucky glanced up as Ana walked into their apartment with her arms full of brown paper bags. Bucky was sitting on the couch watching some of the old news reals that Tony found for him. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around everything, but Bucky knew that if he stuck to it he would be fine.

As he watched Ana struggle to shut the door with her cybernetic foot, Bucky jumped to his feet and went over to help her. Ana smiled gratefully as Bucky placed the bags on the kitchen counter.

"Thanks," Ana said as she took off her coat and scarf. She hung both garments up on a peg then walked over to the bags and began to unpack them.

"You're cooking tonight?" Bucky asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look," Ana said as she pointed a finger at her boyfriend, "I'm going to attempt lasagna. If it goes wrong, then we can just eat dinner with everyone else."

In some ways living in the Avenger's tower was fantastic. They were all one huge family, whenever you needed someone they were there. Most of the time all the Avengers ate dinner together, but tonight Ana was too excited to tell Bucky about the news to share this evening with everyone else. Even if that meant that Ana would have to attempt cooking once more. Ana was a horrible cook, actually she was god awful. Ana could break down a computer and put it back together in an hour but ask her to boil a pot of water that that turned into the impossible.

"Right," Bucky joked as he threw away the empty paper bag and smiled at Ana, "I'll just keep a fire extinguisher close by."

"Ass," Ana muttered under her breath as she watched Bucky walk into the living room to pause the new reals. Ana leaned against the counter and decided that now was as good of a time as ever to tell Bucky, "So I did some digging today."

"About what?" Bucky asked as he walked back into the kitchen and over to the fridge to grab a beer.

Ana turned so she was leaning her lower back against the counter and folded her arms over her chest, "About your past, your origins, and your family. All that kind of stuff."

Bucky got out the bottle opener and popped the cap off before taking a sip of the beer. He narrowed his eyes as he moved the brown bottle away from his lips and asked, "Is that why you wanted to know about my sister?"

Slowly, Ana nodded, "Yes, and well I did some digging on her. Now before you get mad just hear me out. Your sister's alive, I talked with her this afternoon and she agreed to come here on Saturday to see you. Isn't this great? You'll have a tie to your old life. Wait Bucky, why are you looking at me like that?"

Bucky's face paled as Ana talked. He took a step towards Ana and set his beer bottle down on the counter, "You did what?"

"I asked Rebecca to come here to meet you," Ana mumbled.

"Why would you do that to me?" Bucky asked. There was pain in his voice as it shook slightly, "Becky can't see what I've become," he held up his cybernetic arm, "My sister doesn't know about this! My sister only remembers her hero brother who went off to fight a war. I'm a monster now because of this arm, because of what Hydra did to me. How could you be so stupid as to invite her here?!"

That hit Ana like a punch to the stomach. Most of the things that Hydra did to Bucky they did to her also. Ana instantly became self-conscious of her leg and everything else. When Bucky saw the hurt expression on Ana's face he instantly regretted what he said.

"Ana I'm sorry this is just hard I-"

"Save it," Ana whispered, "I'm going out."

Before Bucky could stop her, Ana grabbed her coat and slammed the door behind her as she left.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: I Don't Remember Algebra

New York was always one of Ana's favorite places in the world. Even when she was living in Moscow, a city of amazing history, architecture, and people she ached for New York. It was the place where she felt most at home, it was her home. Right after college this is where Ana went, it was her first home away from home.

Tonight the streets of New York held Ana in a soft embrace as she walked down the street with her jacket wrapped tightly around her chest. The heels of her boots clicked against the pavement as she headed near Time Square. Whenever Ana had trouble thinking she would go to Time Square. Most people hated Time Square because of how crowded it was but Ana found solace in the crowd and the noise. Ana looked both ways before hurrying towards the red bleachers that sat in the middle of Time Square. There weren't much people out tonight, so Ana found a spot at the top of the bleachers and climbed up step by step. When she reached the top Ana sat down and looked over the cars that were driving by.

Each car she knew held at least one person who was happy with their lives. Ana looked down at her hands and watched them tremble slightly. She lowered her head into her hands and felt her whole body shake. For the first time since she stormed out of the apartment Ana was feeling the effects of her and Bucky's fight.

No one knew this, but Ana was still reeling from Washington. Ana couldn't count how many times she woke up in the middle of the night from some hellish nightmare. She couldn't remember how many times she woke up in a cold sweat panicking that Bucky would find out about her PTSD. A month ago, Ana had Bruce diagnose her. Just like Tony, Ana was suffering from her past.

She wasn't built for a soldier's life. Ana was built to be a civilian, or just work in a lab like she always had. But now everyone was telling her that she was an Avenger and deep down inside Ana didn't want this. This was actually the last thing Ana wanted. She wanted to go back to her normal life, move into an apartment with Bucky in New York and go back to doing lab work. She didn't want to be a part of the Earth's last line of defense.

Slowly Ana picked up her head and took a deep breath. The December's night breeze slicked over the tear tracks on her face. Ana shut her eyes and wiped away the tears on her coat sleeve. She could tell her eyes were red from crying. No one seemed to notice Ana sitting there, and she was alright with that. Ana didn't want anyone to find her right now.

From inside her coat pocket Ana felt her phone go off. She sniffled as she looked into her pocket and saw a text from Bucky.

_Where are you? _

Ana didn't take out her phone. She pulled her knees to her chest as she glazed at couples passing by her. Ana always thought she would have a normal life, but those dreams were shattered as soon as Bucky walked into her life. Ana knew no matter how much she craved normality, it was impossible to achieve after everything she went through in the last year.

Sighing, Ana pushed herself to her feet and tucked her hands inside her pockets. She walked down the steps of the bleachers and when she reached the bottom there was a loud cracking noise. Ana froze for a second as she tried to repress the flash backs of Washington. Her hands shook for a moment as she gripped the railing on the bleachers.

Slowly in her head Ana counted backwards from ten in Russia. She shut her eyes and remembered happy times before opening them back up. Standing across the street was Kacper with a worried look on his face. His hands were tucked into his pockets and he was only wearing a light sweat shirt.

Ana grimaced as she realized just how Kacper found her. She walked over to her friend and shoved her phone to his chest. Kacper sighed and hurried after Ana as she stormed away, "Ana, what's wrong?"

"Don't put a tracker on my phone Kacper," Ana snapped. She knew that Bruce didn't tell anyone about her condition, she begged him not to. So Ana had no idea why Kacper would put the tracker in unless he just was being a good friend and trying to keep track of her.

"Ana," Kacper ran up to his friend and jumped in front of her, "Ana, wait. What happened? Bucky's looking for you, he said that you two had a disagreement and you went storming out of the apartment."

Ana stopped and sighed as she slipped her hands into her pockets, "That's one way to put it."

"What's going on with you Ana?" Kacper asked point blank. There was concern in his light eyes, "I've known you for years and I've never seen you this upset. You don't look the same, you don't sleep, and you just work."

"We have a heavy job Kacper," Ana said in a monotone voice, "I'm just trying to get back to work."

"But you've been doing this for the past six months," Kacper said as he lowered his head a bit, "I know you're still shaken from Washington but you have to pull it together. You have the UN hearing on Sunday."

Ana mentally kicked herself for forgetting about that. Natasha already had hers just after the Washington incident but the committee was letting Ana recover before she went in for questioning. Unlike Natasha's this hearing wouldn't be on television. It would be just a committee of world leaders questioning Ana about her involvement with the whole thing.

"I'm guessing there's no way to get out of this," Ana muttered as she folded her arms over her chest.

Kacper shook his head, "No, they want to hear your side the story."

Ana was worried that she would have a flash back in the middle of the hearing. She knew that she would have to be totally calm for this or else there would be dire consequences, "Alright, if the meeting is on Sunday then I can get at least three specs for new weapons drawn out and-"

"No!" Kacper suddenly shouted causing a few of the people passing by to stare at the pair, "No, Ana you need a break. You're working yourself to death. I won't let you in the lab for two days."

Ana's eyes narrowed, "I'm your boss Kacper-"

"Three days."

"But-"

"Goddamit Ana, four days," Kacper said in a stern voice. He was starting to lose his thick Polish accent, "Now come on, you have to talk to Bucky."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Blood, Sweat, and Chemical Compounds

Ana stood in front of the mirror in the hallway holding her coat on her arm. She stared at herself in the mirror and for the first time in a long time Ana realized how she old she looked. Not a month over twenty eight and Ana already had dark bags under her eyes. Her skin was pale and it looked as if her hair was thinning on top because of stress. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and lack of sleep. Even her hands were thinning and looked as if they belonged to someone in their fifties.

With a shaking hand Ana bushed her bangs back and sighed. She hung her coat up on a peg before bending down to take off her boots. Slowly Ana stepped out of her high dark red rain boots and curled her toes against the hard floor.

The apartment was dimly lit and smelt of canned soup. Ana sighed deeply before pulling her hair out of the pony tail was in. With one hand she shook her hair out as she slowly walked from the entryway into the living room. It was empty and the TV wasn't on. Ana walked over to the lamp and tapped the base to turn it off. Then she slowly walked towards the bedroom that was off the living room. As she pushed the door open she could see Bucky sitting on the edge of the bed holding a picture in his hands.

Ana slipped into the room and shut the door behind her. She pressed her back to the door as Bucky slowly lifted his head. Bucky's eyes looked as if he had been crying but he didn't say anything. He simply placed the picture on the bed and stood. Before Ana could say anything he crossed the room and wrapped Ana into his arms. He cradled Ana to his chest and held her trembling body. Ana hugged Bucky back for dear life, she held onto the back of his tee-shirt. The only noise in the room was the sound of Ana's jagged breaths.

"Bruce told me," Bucky whispered as he ran his hand up and down Ana's back, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry," Ana muttered into Bucky's chest. Her cheek was laying close to his heart and she could hear it beating.

Bucky pulled away and took Ana's face in both of his large hands. The pain that was in his blue eyes were so visible to Ana. Just by looking at Bucky's face Ana instantly felt the guilt hit her head on like a bus. She suddenly became very interested in her shoes as she stared down at them. Bucky took his index finger and titled her head up so she had no choice but to stare him in the eye.

"Please don't keep things from me," Bucky pleaded.

Ana pulled away and nodded, "Alright, I promise I won't keep things from you anymore but you have to promise me something."

Bucky's jaw set hard as he looked away from Ana. Ana grabbed both sides of his head and forced him to turn back to her as she said in a low voice, "You have to talk to your sister. Please, for your own sake."

Bucky looked down at Ana and sighed, "Fine, but you have to go to a therapist."

"I-I can do that," Ana said with a nod as she dropped her hands to her hips. Bucky smiled and placed his hands on her hips then kissed the top of her head.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

…..

The next morning Ana was sitting on a stool in the main kitchen of the Avengers tower. She was dressed in a pair of black sports shorts and a gray zip up sweatshirt. Her hair was a mess and tied into a pony tail. That night she slept the best she had in months. A piping hot cup of coffee was in her hands as Ana listened to the morning news.

As a story aired about a car crash Bruce walked into the kitchen. Ana shot him a dirty look as she narrowed her eyes and muttered, "You ratted me out."

Bruce blushed as he walked over to the coffee pot, "I'm sorry but they deserved to know."

"I hate you," Ana said in a joking voice as Bruce walked over and sat down beside her at the island. Ana stared at her coffee cup and sighed, "Bucky wants me to go to therapy."

"Maybe that's a good idea," Bruce said with shrugging shoulders.

Ana nodded and sighed, "Yeah, it is. I'll start looking for a therapist tomorrow but I have more important things to worry about. I have a hearing with the UN security council that I need to prepare for."

"They're still making you do that?" Bruce asked in a socked tone.

"Yep," Ana said with a bitter scowl, "I don't want to but there's no way in hell I can get out of it again. So I guess I'll be preparing for that as well as dealing with everything else. Hey, do you know if Tony is going to hire an actual weapons expert because Kacper and I have no idea what we're doing."

Bruce shook his head and laughed, "I'll talk to him about it," Bruce looked down and noticed that Ana's leg was showing, "I see you let your leg out today."

Ana looked down and saw the shinning metal contrast with her skin and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't like it but there's nothing I can do about it now is there? And besides, I trust you guys the most so I know you wouldn't stare or anything. Anyway, I need to go work out for a bit."

"What the hell, since when do you work out?" Bruce called as Ana's sashaying hips walked out of the kitchen.

"Since I began a super solder!" She called over her shoulder before the door slam behind her.

…

_Kick, kick, upper cut, round house kick, left punch, kick. _

An hour or so later Ana was in the gym viciously delivering punch after punch to a punching bag that was hanging from the ceiling. It swung left and right as Ana kicked it with the heel of her foot then brought her elbow around. The force of her arm hitting the punching bag broke the screws and set the bag flying.

"Shit," Ana muttered to herself as she stood there for a moment. She was coated in a sheer layer of sweat and she was painting slightly.

"That was pretty good," Bucky said from behind her.

Ana turned and smiled as Bucky walked into the room dressed in a pair of shorts and a tight fitting tee shirt. Bucky's eyes trailed down Ana's sports bra, lose tank top, and shorts. Her feet were bare and she had tape wrapped around her knuckles. Her hair was pulled back into a sweaty messy pony tail.

Bucky set his water bottle down and took off his own shoes. He watched confusion cross Ana's face as he walked over to her and spread his arms out, "Okay, try on me."

"What if I hurt you?" Ana said as she took a half a step back.

Bucky shook his head and laughed, "Trust me, you won't hurt me."

With that, Ana delivered a strong kick to Bucky's side. He didn't even wince as Ana pulled her leg back. In a split second Bucky began throwing punches that Ana dodged. She would kick, he would block, she would punch, and he would dodge. It was like a dance. The pair of bodies moved in such intricate patterns that they looked as if this was planned, practiced, and talked about. Soon sweat was dripping down both Bucky and Ana's faces. Ana could feel herself getting tired as they continued their little dance. Then she lazily managed to knock Bucky's leg out from under him while Bucky grabbed onto her arm. The pair fell onto the mats below with Ana straddling Bucky's leg and his hands were on her butt.

"Well," Bucky said with a cheeky smirk, "We haven't been in this position for a while."

Ana felt a heat in her belly as she mimicked his smirk, "No, we haven't."

A smirk formed on Bucky's face as he reached up and kissed Ana with all his might. He flipped them over to Ana was pinned beneath his massive form and placed her hands above her head as he trailed kisses down her neck. Just as things started to get heated the door opened to Tony standing there with a drink in his hand.

"Okay kids stop groping each other, there's someone to see Ana and you better come quickly."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: The Twins

The Twins, or that's what Tony referred to them as, were not what Ana was expecting. She was expecting normal kids who were maybe extremely strong or unusually smart. What she wasn't expecting, was what was right in front of her.

The girl had dark bags under her eyes and was dangerously thin. She was sitting next to her brother looking nervous. Her eyes were scanning her surroundings as if something was going to jump out an attack her. There were bruises lining her body and her cheeks were gaunt.

The boy looked dangerous. He looked dangerously protective of his sister and looked as if he would attack anyone who got too close to either of them. His eyes were scanning the room and when Ana walked in he stiffened in his seat. He glared at her and when his eyes fell on her metal leg which was plainly visible he moved closer to his sister.

Ana knew instantly that these two were from Hydra. She could see it in their eyes and in the skittish way they looked around. She walked slowly over to them and sat down in the chair across from the couch they were seated on. Tony hung back behind the chair with his arms folded over his chest. He knew Ana could handle herself but he wanted to stay and make sure that they weren't dangerous.

"My name is Dr. Ana Baker," Ana said in a cool smooth voice, "And before we start talking, I want the two of you to know that you're in a safe place. We're not going to hurt you here and you're safe from whoever you're trying to get away from. Now, if you two are comfortable, will you tell me your names?"

It was the girl who spoke first. She tucked a piece of brown hair behind her ear and moved her eyes so she was looking at Ana, "Our names are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff."

"It's nice to meet you two," Ana said with the utmost sincerity, "Can you tell me what happened to you?"

Again the girl spoke. He brother clenched a bit and tried to avoid looking at Ana as Wanda spoke softly, "We were taken by Hydra a few years ago when they discovered our abilities. They imprisoned us and experimented on us. They-they," Wanda shook her head and Ana frowned.

"You don't have to tell me anymore," she tapped a finger against her leg, "I understand what Hydra can do to people."

Pietro scowled and snapped, "Oh because you have a fake leg you think you understand what we went through?!"

Wanda and Ana glanced at the young man with shock on their faces. Pietro stood and before anyone could say anything to him he stormed out of the room. Tony didn't even try to chase after him. The boy looked broken. There were demons hidden behind his eyes. The three people remaining in the room watched Pietro walk away with his hands clenched into fists. Ana sighed and turned back to Wanda who looked as if she was going to break down into tears.

It was obvious that these two had been through hell. Ana stood and walked over to Tony who was still standing behind her chair. She took a step towards Tony and whispered, "We should give these two rooms in the Tower. I want to see what Hydra did to them but not tonight, they deserve a good night's sleep and please send Clint after Pietro."

"I'll send Steve with Bird Brain," Tony muttered as Wanda sobbed softly, "He can calm the kid down and Pepper can take care of Wanda. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see if I can find out any information about those two," Ana said as she left the room and headed towards the elevator.

…..

Bucky loved watching Ana work. From where he was sitting on the couch he could observe Ana sitting in her favorite chair, legs tucked under her, and laptop resting on her lap. Her eyes were scanning the computer screen as she tapped away at the keys. Her eyebrows were knitted together and she was chewing lightly on her lip. Bucky watched Ana press a few buttons then herd their wireless printer come alive. She snapped her laptop shut and placed it on the coffee table before leaning back and sighing as she rested her arms against the chair.

Bucky didn't know why she loved him. Everything she did was magical to him; the way she was able to forgive him, the way she trust people, and the way she carried herself. 70 years ago this would be the kind of woman Bucky would have married in a heartbeat. She was brilliant, witty, gorgeous, and everything he wanted in a woman. But there was still a part of Bucky that knew that he didn't deserve her. Every night when Bucky couldn't sleep he would look over at Ana, who would be hogging most of the bed, and think about how lucky he was to have her. She could have anyone and she chose to tie herself down to a broken man.

Bucky took a sip of the beer he was drinking as Ana smiled at him. Bucky opened his arms and said in his husky voice, "Come here."

Ana smiled and got up. She walked over to Bucky and sat down on his lap. Bucky wrapped his arms around her and muttered into her hair, "What did I do to deserve you?"

Ana rested her head on Bucky's shoulder and sighed, "You went through hell. You went through hell and you're still an amazing man."

Bucky cringed at her words, "I'm not a good man Ana."

"I know," Ana said as she looked into Bucky's blue eyes, "But you're trying and that's what matters. You may not be a good man, but I'd still trust you with my life."

Bucky ran his hand over Ana's metal leg and sighed, "I want to take you out on a date sometime."

That made Ana laugh. The change of pace was nice, she hopped off of Bucky's lap and tugged her shorts back into place. Both were still in the clothes they worked out in earlier. Her document that had finished printing and Ana crossed the room to where the printer sat. She took out of thirty page document and sighed, "I could really use a night out."

Bucky nodded towards the papers in his girlfriend's hands, "What are those?"

"Old Hydra documents," Ana muttered, "there are two new comers; Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. They were experimented on by Hydra and I want to find out just what happened to them exactly."

"Why, it's not your job to find out what happened," Bucky muttered.

Ana's eyes snapped up to her boyfriend who was sitting across the room on the couch, "Really, we were both Hydra play things. It's the lease I can do; they need someone right now," suddenly Ana remembered something, "And speaking of someone; you have to go see your sister."

Bucky shifted and sighed. He remembered the argument he got into with Ana earlier about his sister and didn't want to upset her once more. Bucky watched Ana fold her arms over her chest and arch her sculpted eyebrows.

"Fine," Bucky muttered, "But I'm dragging your ass with me when I go. Can we go tomorrow? I just want to get it over."

Ana nodded as she pulled out her phone to check her schedule, "Tony and I have to be in a meeting tomorrow morning at nine. Thor's coming back to Earth and for some insane reason he wants to bring his homicidal psychopathic brother."

Bucky smirked, "You shouldn't be judging, you're dating one of the deadliest assassins in the world."

Ana shrugged her shoulders and nodded as a wide smile crept onto her face, "Well, no one's exactly a saint."

Bucky took a sip of his beer, "Except your sister; from the way Steve talks about her Katherine's god's gift to the world."

"Sometimes," Ana groaned as she ran her hands over her face, "I forget that they're dating, or at least I try to. It's just weird; Steve's dating the girl he was in love with in 1940's granddaughter."

"Hey," Bucky said as he stood and placed his beer on the table, "Peggy was a looker back then," he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Ana's waist, "But, I got the better looking sister."

A wide smile formed onto Ana's face as she rose to her tip toes and said, "Damn right you did," before melting into one of Bucky's kisses.


End file.
